Where Is The Jewish Response To Galliano’s Anti-Semitism Scandal?

by Julia Rubin | 11:44 am, March 2nd, 2011

The John Galliano anti-Semitism scandal is something that has entirely consumed my life this past week, and it’s not just because I work for a fashion blog — it’s because I also happen to be Jewish.

I am not an authority. I do not in any way speak for all Jews, but I can at least attempt to share the feelings of a Jewish fashion blogger and her Jewish family and friends. To give some background, I attended Jewish day school for nine years and went to Jewish summer camps. Both my high school and college had healthy Jewish populations. I identify with Judaism as a culture more so than as a religion, a common experience among many young American Jews.

Jews make up 0.2% of the world population, as in one fifth of one percent of all of the people in the entire world. There are approximately 13.4 million of us. (For comparison, 37.3 million people live in the state of California alone.) These are numbers that have astounded me my entire life, simultaneously filling me with a sense of pride and uneasiness. It is estimated that 13 million people died in the Holocaust, 6 million of which were Jews.

The Holocaust is the most disturbing and painful chapter in modern Jewish history. “Never forget,” we are told over and over again. Never forget, so such an atrocity never happens again. My family was lucky — both my mother and father’s families immigrated to the United States well before World War II. This is not the case for many Jews of European descent.

When news of Galliano spouting anti-Semitic slurs broke, I didn’t want to believe it. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, innocent until proven guilty and all that. Galliano is one of my favorite designers, after all. His fall 2008 Dior couture show moved me in a way I never knew a runway show could. But when that infamous video leaked, I knew it would be his demise. I also knew it would be something I would discuss ad nauseam, in both my professional and personal lives.

I cannot cast judgment on Galliano’s character. From all accounts, his anti-Semitic remarks came as a total shock. But what he said in the video is still inexcusable. Whether or not he was drunk, and whether or not he said such things in jest, is irrelevant. It is not about his intent (because we really can’t speculate about that), the real issue is that he said horribly offensive things relating to a traumatic event that Jews feel incredibly sensitive about. I do not know if Galliano is an anti-Semite, but I do know that what he said qualifies as anti-Semitic.

I have heard comments like Galliano’s before, made by Jews and non-Jews alike, some of whom were drunk and some of whom were stone-cold sober. Rarely has there been hatred behind such words; more often than not they have been words permeated by carelessness. As an American Jew who grew up in a major metropolitan area and attended liberal schools all my life, I have never been subject to any blatant or malicious anti-Semitism, but anti-Semitic comments (especially those relating to the Holocaust) never fail to deeply upset me regardless of the motivation involved.

Then there’s the issue of the incident being taped. It is still unclear if this video was recorded the night of the alleged altercation, but it doesn’t really matter. Though some found the leaking of the clip odiously opportunistic, Galliano said what he said, regardless of context. You should always own up to what you say — whether it be in public or private, on the record or off.

I’ve been disappointed by the fashion world’s response thus far, and even more disappointed by the deafening silence of Jewish members of the fashion community. I want to know what Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan think. I want to know what Diane von Furstenberg, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, thinks. I want to know what Israelis Yigal Azrouël, Elie Tahari and Alber Elbaz (who very well may replace Galliano at Dior) think. I want to hear from Marc Jacobs and Isaac Mizrahi and Zac Posen. Because even though Jews make up 0.2% of the population, sometimes it feels like they all ended up in fashion.

As proud Jew and lover of fashion Natalie Portman so eloquently put it: “I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”

John Galliano John Galliano Anti-Semitism John Galliano response

rjb1000

“But when that infamous video leaked…”

As far as I know, the video says nothing about Jews merely the idiotic statement “I love Hitler”. Your previous hero Galliano is clearly drunk or out of his mind on drugs, or something. Something, I am told happens a lot in the fashion industry.

If “I love Hitler’ shows he is antisemitic (which it doesn’t), it also shows he is homophobic since Hitler gassed homosexuals.

Frankly, I’ve always thought Galliano was a total pratt (antisemitic or not). Sadly, that is my view of many in the fashion industry. On that, too, I imagine we disagree.

regards

RB
Anonymous

Props to you, Julia, for asking why so many Jewish fashion designers have elected not to comment on Galliano’s diatribe. Bravo to KL for his comments.
Sujagirl

must agree with first commenter…there were no statement about Jews in the video and granted, “I love Hitler” is not a peace-generating declaration, I have heard far worst and far more anti-semitic comments. I also think that you/one need not be Jewish to be unnerved by anti-semitic slurs – why is it only blacks can complain about the “N-word” and only Asians can complain about such and such – you get my point. Lastly, I found your Jewish self-qualifiying and demographic analysis to be a bit over the top, preachy and kinda silly.
rjb1000

As Michael Rosen pointed out in the Guardian 2 March 2011 9:40AM:

“As it happens Dior was once into Nazi-chic”

Perhaps ‘proud Jew and lover of fashion Natalie Portman’ didn’t know before she signed her lucrative deal. Although a quick Google search by her or her handlers would have revealed as much.

Perhaps she didn’t want to know…

Not sure if your view of fashion is simply naive or just sanctimonious.
Auntydolkk

Silence speaks louder than words, the Jewish community doesn’t need to say anything, the silence is powerful enough and looks worse Galliano!
Anonymous

Um, Dior had Nazi leanings before Natalie Portman was even born. This is now.

I too was curious about what some of fashion’s leading lights — Jewish and not — had to say.
Anonymous

Oh really? “Your mother, your forefathers would have been gassed”? Let’s stroke our chins and really think about what that could possibly mean.

Maybe he meant they were gypsies or theoogians. Hitler gassed them too, you know.
Rebecca

DVF just commented on Good Morning America saying (and I’m just paraphrasing) that though she feels that what he said was horrible, he’s a fragile man and she knows he doesn’t mean it or something like that. I’m shocked that she, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, would take this so lightly.
Anonymous

I dont think Galliano is anti-semitic or racist, just a dumb ass. I think he was very drunk, got really pissed about something and tried to think of the worst thing he could say and got caught doing it. Regardless, his name will be tarnished for awhile but in the end will do fine on his own. The power of womens addiction to fashion can forgive many sins and has before.
http://thenewblackisblack.com/ Black is the New Black

great post!
Parrot

As it appears, the memory of the holocaust is fading. The understanding of why it is we have laws on antisemitism not in, but next to laws on discrimination, racism, private insult etc. is somehow gone. What Galliano fumbled in the fortune of his ignorence is the memory of a wrong so dense it dwarves every other massacre in human history. The industrial processing of human beings as a permanent component of one of the most powerfull societies of the last century.

Humans, not abused like slaves or slaughtered like animals, but processed… like waste. Corralled in camps, their clothes taken from them, led into chambers to be gassed, the gold of their toothfillings recycled, their bodies shoveled into ovens and burned, their ashes used as fertilizer, processed. Not just jews, but all sorts of people.

Us not jews should be quietly gratefull that the first sure indication of the tendency that led to this evil is expressions of hatred against jews or glorification of industrial murder itself. This is why we have laws that allow us to engage the very first sprouts of these ideas. Not to protect jews, but to protect us all.

So blowing this up like the video did is not a good idea and public condemnation like miss Portman did is not the right answer to Gallianos public condemnation. Nobody should need to take a stand on this publicly. Here’s what should have happened.

When you notice something like this you report it to the authorities without further ado. Then he will be liberated of some of his wallets content to get his attention. Then he will quietly be taken aside and told: “Listen… John… if common decency cant keep you from saying those things, than there is something you should know.” And then he will be gently led past all the monuments of what horror his species is capable of. And if that doesn’t immideatly sink in, he is granted the undisturbed sanctuary of a few months of government issued solitude to think it over. And when all that is over, he is introduced to a group of people who will hear him say: “Hi.. I’m John and I’m an alcoholic. It made me blast my career into oblivion.” And they will listen to him and they will not judge.

And everything else is just a load of entertainment over a subject that is way too serious to ever be used as such.
Azalea0915

oops shock horror don pull back the curtain on the wizard of oz people!
This fasshion guy is a real creep and we should forget him. Genocide, racism, etc etc are ALL terrible and all suck but let’s examine history in it’s entirety before we form opinions.
A young man in a bavarian jail about 100yrs ago read a book, written by members of the US government, outlining the ideas of social construction or whatever they call it- sterilise, segregrate or kill the following : Schizophrenics, Homosexuals, Homeless… and others.
Hitler was a freakin turd and so were his cronies- but history must be examined in it’s entirety- (all the following occured BEFORE any crimes against the Jewish people)–Hitler was the first national leader to call for a Jewish homeland, the Nazi party paid Jewish families money to help them relocate, ( still crappy but we can see there was no murder etc to begin with ), Jewish University students in Germany were kicked out of thier study, ( again crap but hey Germany is it’s own nation- it must be free to do what it wants ), and some of those students got really peeved and then attempted to assassinate Hitler, ( dunno bout you but an assassination attempt might drive me to be a bit nasty to the people who pulled it on my ), and from there things went downhill.
British peacekeepers were murdered by Jewish people impatient with the speed of the UN creation of Israel as a state. ( Israel ever talk of that? ).
Israel uses passports of it’s ‘friends’ to commit murder- Australian, Canadian and other passports were used by Mossad to murder that guy in the hotel in Saudi Arabia? or wherever it was a few years ago.
Nazis? who cares what a groups name is- ANY name group who murders, mistreats, imprisons, etc etc ANY other people is terrible. Gee- Israel sure is treating thier Palestinian neighbours well eh? Not allowing medical supplies- even concrete to build a new hospital was not allowed in… but again- that’s thier country- they can be as nice or nasty as they like.
Long post- ta for reading as it is a subject which brings forth a lot of emotion! Let’s all be good to eachother and leave the evil- let them rot in their own misery.
http://www.facebook.com/TH999 Terence Hill

Jews make up 0.2% of the world’s population yet make 90% of the noise.
http://www.business-realestate-law.com/ San Diego business

I identify with Judaism as a culture more so than as a religion, a common experience among many young American Jews.

Where Is The Jewish Response To Galliano’s Anti-Semitism Scandal?

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